Varner
wrote about his experiences on Quora in March 2013. Recently,
he provided Business Insider with an introduction to that Quora
post explaining what he's been doing since he stopped calling his
2004 Honda Civic home.

Two years ago, I jumped head-first into the Silicon Valley tech
world. Armed with little more than a dream, I drove to Palo Alto
with a car, but nowhere to live. For four months, I lived from my
car, relying on pragmatism, creativity and the kindness of the
community. Today, I have my own version of the Silicon Valley
dream — My wife and I reside in Mountain View (not in a car), and
I have a job as a Senior Product Designer at the on demand shipping startup, Shyp.

Beyond the obvious cost savings, I gained perspective on what
really matters, including compassion for others less fortunate
and the focus to pursue his true passion of design. Wondering if
extreme minimalism is right for you? Here is the story of how I
spent a summer homeless, on a $219 per month budget, to join the
tech revolution.

***

I recently concluded a 4 month adventure of living from
my car in Silicon Valley. Don't listen to the
naysayers. It can be done, and it will save you a ton of money. I
did this out of choice, also while bootstrapping my
startup.

My monthly costs were a grand total of
$219. $100 for a 24/7 co-working membership, $39
for a 24/7 gym membership, and $80 at the grocery store. Here's
how the logistics of it all worked...

Car:If you don't have a car, get one. It is key
to making this lifestyle work. You don't need to worry about a
homeless shelter, and you can store all your possessions in it
(all I had was a duffle bag, my laptop, sleeping stuff, and
food). It's the one consistent place you can depend on. You'll be
able to buy a cheap one for less than a month's rent in the Bay
Area. I had a 2004 Honda Civic.

Sleeping: Sleeping is obviously super
important if you expect to be in good mental standing everyday. I
made it work by folding down the rear seats and laying a 3" foam
mattress pad from the truck to the rear of the interior. I'm 6
feet tall and I could almost stretch out entirely while laying
down. It's not as comfortable as a bed, but surprisingly, it's
not as bad as you'd think. I slept fully through the nights.

Showering: I bought a 24 Hour Fitness
membership to take care of my hygienic needs. Every morning I'd
wake up and drive to the gym to take a shower. Then, like every
other normal person, I'd head off to work. I found that having
24/7 access was really nice in case I had to go to the bathroom
in the middle of the night. I'd always park within a few miles
(and many times as close as the parking lot). If you're looking
for a less expensive option, there are some gyms that are as low
as $15/mo.

Working and free time: I signed up for a
Hacker Dojo co-working membership. This is primarily where I
spent all my time. They provide fast internet, a microwave,
coffee, water, couches, community, etc. For only $100/mo, it's a
no brainer. **Do not abuse their space. Don't use it to sleep in
or steal from. Just common sense.

Eating: I stored almost all my food
in my car. The small amount of perishable food I did have, I used
the Hacker Dojo refrigerators. These are communal, so I chose not
to store much in them. However, I would use their microwave
everyday to heat my meals. I wrote a short post about what I
ate: http://blog.kurtvarner.com/post/....
Mainly, just get stuff that doesn't need to be refrigerated.
However, it is definitely a challenge to eat healthy, as high
sodium is going to be prevalent in nearly all canned foods. Just
be cautious.

Parking: Technically, Palo Alto is the only Bay Area
city where it's legal to live from a vehicle. That said, I parked
more nights in Mountain View over the course of the 4 months. I
was only slightly disturbed once when a police officer
spotlighted my car. I sat up from my back seat, looked at him,
and then he simply drove away.

When looking for locations to park, my focus was on being
unnoticed. Anywhere with little foot traffic is best. Not sure
where you're located, but here are a few places that worked well
for me: https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?.... There are
countless other places that will work well. I found these by
taking an afternoon to just randomly drive around.

Privacy

Tint your windows: If you want your
privacy, tint your windows. This was one of the best decisions I
made, as it really helped me to fly under the radar. I went with
a 23% tint that cost about $120 professionally installed. It
wasn't pitch black, but it was dark enough where you couldn't see
in during the night, and made you and your possessions not
obvious during the day.

Sun
shade: Get a $5
sun shade to put in the windshield while you sleep.

Rear screen: Do the same with a mesh
screen for the rear window.----Here are two videos of my set up. It may help the reality
of the situation set in a bit.

Video of waking up in my car: I
may regret posting this one, but here's to transparency
:)Overall, this lifestyle begins to feel fairly normal.
Admittedly, it's nicer to be living in an apartment, but if
you're in desperate need to cut costs, a car will be your best
friend.

On a side note, there's another fantastic benefit that
comes from living like this — embracing a
minimalistic perspective on life. Before these 4 months,
everyday I took for granted things like a warm bed, shower, home
cooked meals, etc. It’s easy to lose sight of how privileged the
majority of us are, but there are many, many people without these
basic things. I realized that even the simple things in life
could bring me more happiness than a world of possessions.

Since starting my journey, I've heard a lot of
encouragement from the startup community, but also quite a bit of
hatred. You have to take the negativity with a grain of salt. You
know your situation better than anyone, so just trust
yourself.

You are not alone. During my
experience I saw many other people living from vehicles. It's
strange that most people are oblivious to it. There are even
several other entrepreneurs I know that are taking to the streets
to cut costs here in the Valley.

I'd be more than happy to offer any other advice to you.
There's so much more that could be said, but I'm sparing some
details for the sake of time. Connect with me if you'd like to
meet up or get on a call.